Consumers have an ever-increasing array of options for consuming media content, in terms of the types of media content (e.g., video, audio, text, games, etc.), providers of the media content, and devices for consuming media content. Media content providers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and effective at providing media content quickly and reliably to consumers.
Some devices for consuming media content include immersive devices that can simulate a user's physical presence within a virtual reality (VR) environment. For example, a VR headset can include sensors to recognize a user moving her head, and therefore, change her perspective within the VR environment. As a result, the display of the media content needs to be adjusted to reflect the user's movement. Unfortunately, image frames for VR environments can be difficult to decode since they include a large amount of image data, resulting in reduced visual quality and increased latency for adjusting the display if the user changes perspective.